Chapter 639: Escape the Scene

Beyond the Steel Cathedral, the sky was suddenly enveloped in starlight; in the pale blue glow, black and white interwove like a massive chessboard, easily covering half of Teli, causing everything around to move slowly, as if the flow of time were infinitely delayed.

The Hidden Sage's "Chessboard of Ages" briefly affected even the True God.

Inside the Steel Cathedral, the information stream that had raced among the mottled shards of civilization suddenly halted, transforming into countless dazzling stars that darted and intertwined in midair, sketching symbols representing the realms of change, mystery, time, and destiny.

The cathedral instantly grew gloomy and dim; the surrounding spacetime warped, becoming completely cut off from the outside, even information could no longer interact.

Lei Keton used the simulated "Mysterious Secret Realm" to temporarily sever the cathedral from the outside; deprived of external support, the floating shards of civilization around vanished by more than half in an instant.

The state lasted only a heartbeat; this is the God of Steam and Machinery's cathedral, and He easily reestablished the link with His true form, dispelling the mystery that shrouded the cathedral.

Reforming into an information torrent, Lei Keton seized the chance and burst out of the increasingly perilous cathedral.

The torrent of information, the moment it left the Steel Cathedral, plunged straight into the Spirit Realm, swiftly wandering deeper within.

At the deepest, highest point of the Spirit Realm, seven differently colored pure bright lights, each harboring endless knowledge, slowly writhed.

Their positions suddenly became extremely close, as if within reach, and the multicolored radiance illuminated the surroundings.

Under their influence, parts of the Spirit Realm's information were concealed while others became unusually active; concepts of location and direction grew chaotic, like a jumble of blocks haphazardly reassembled.

With the aid of the Seven Lights, Lei Keton quickly fled the Spirit Realm sector corresponding to Teli.

Behind him, countless mottled shards of civilization floated rapidly, approaching Lei Keton's incarnate information torrent, but were soon scattered by the Spirit Realm's chaos.

Lines of dull, impure, colorless light sprang from the void, erasing the massive chessboard illusion created by the Hidden Sage, destroying the barrier formed by rainbow mountains, piercing the hard‑to‑connect barrier that isolated the outside, and raging into the Spirit Realm.

Deep within the Spirit Realm, the Seven Lights that had disturbed its information and coordinates halted, returning to the highest point of the realm, flowing silently as if eternally unchanged.

The Hidden Sage, closely following the God of Steam and Machinery into the Spirit Realm, caused illusory "lights" of tangled information to expand rapidly, instantly enveloping the surrounding Spirit Realm area, forming a phantom light sphere that split the surroundings from the whole Spirit Realm.

It seemed as if a hazy glow composed of countless illusory things continuously collapsed inward, converging into a heavy‑feeling yet phantom tome.

The phantom tome kept turning pages, reflecting the floating information around and absorbing it.

In a brief moment, the illusory light sphere formed from tangled information sprouted cracks, and the surroundings reestablished contact with the Spirit Realm.

The phantom light sphere instantly disintegrated, turning again into a terrifying torrent of information that surged away without any intention of lingering.

All that remained were countless mottled lights floating in place, outlining a vague silhouette; it glanced toward the direction the Hidden Sage had retreated, then stared deeply at the seven pure lights at the Spirit Realm's apex, accompanied by an incomprehensible sigh, and the vague figure vanished within the Spirit Realm.

Yindisi, Reed Port on the far east of Huonachisi Province, was originally a tiny fishing harbor; with the growth of shipbuilding and the advantage of inland seas, it gradually relied on trade among Yindisi, Fusak, and Luen, becoming the most prosperous city along the Yindisi Sea coast.

In a warehouse near the dock, a ghostly blue glow floated from the void, rapidly contracting to form an illusory "Traveler's Gate" adorned with mysterious patterns.

Lun Na De stepped out of the gate with a slightly unsteady gait; the torn, flayed flesh on his body had vanished, leaving only dried blood that hadn't yet been wiped away.

The Traveler's Gate behind him collapsed and disappeared; Lun Na De glanced around and muttered softly:

"Old man, why didn't you tell me the ring's side effect is getting lost? I almost walked into a Steam Church cathedral just now."

"Before you got lost, I didn't know one of its effects was to cause people to lose their way."

Pa Lie Si gave a brief reply, his voice sounding a bit weaker than before.

Lun Na De's eyebrows twitched, feeling an urge to yank the ring off and toss it; he took a deep breath, suppressed the impulse, and asked, "One effect aside, what other negative effects does it have?"

"Wearing it for long periods makes a person lazy, even unwilling to think," Pa Lie Si explained the ring's second drawback, then taunted, "It won't affect you much; you never liked to think anyway."

Lun Na De exhaled, not arguing with Pa Lie Si about disliking thought; he switched to the earlier matter, "Old man, did he succeed?"

"Also, who made that sudden terrifying sound just now? Him, or Him?"

"What language was that, and what did it mean? It didn't sound like meaningless shrieking, yet its pronunciation was unlike any of the northern or southern continent tongues, nor like dragon, giant, or elf speech," Pa Lie Si chuckled lightly, then said mockingly:

"Look at you, asking a barrage of questions yet never considering finding the answers on your own."

After a brief pause, Pa Lie Si's tone softened, and he sighed, "If he didn't succeed, even after leaving Teli you would still sense the Divine War's movements."

"Likewise, to emit such a howl, even I was affected a bit—could it be an ordinary being?"

"Even you were affected?" Lun Na De exclaimed in disbelief, then thoughtfully nodded, "No wonder I fell straight out of the Spirit Realm then; I thought you did it on purpose."

Pa Lie Si snorted, "Heh, I'm not that bored; teasing you doesn't give me any sense of achievement."

Lun Na De ignored Pa Lie Si's trailing words and, with a hint of concern, asked:

"Old man, were you injured just now?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Pa Lie Si let out a light hum, then spoke rather cheerfully:

"Though I took a bit of damage, I've recovered somewhat compared to before; I didn't expect the underground of the Steam Cathedral to contain a sealed artifact of the Thief path, which gave me some replenishment."

He paused, then continued:

"I'm in good shape now; the Jacob family treasure I uncovered in Flora Ya Ge's memories can finally be explored, remember to find a Jacob descendant at the next Fate Hermit gathering."

While Lun Na De and Pa Lie Si conversed, torrents of tangled information—"lights"— surged from the Spirit Realm, rapidly coalescing in the warehouse to reconstitute Lei Keton's body.

He wore a hooded black robe; beneath it, his form was half writhing flesh, half a statue forged from black liquid and brilliant starlight, with no clear dividing line, like two immiscible liquids sealed in a humanoid vessel, any movement causing them to ripple.

"You—" Lun Na De stared in shock at the suddenly appearing figure, swallowing the words he hadn't finished.

He was startled by Lei Keton's abrupt appearance; had it not been for the familiar aura, he would have triggered the ring and teleported elsewhere in that instant.

Pa Lie Si's hoarse voice, tinged with mockery, echoed around:

"You have a bit of indigestion."

"The sealed artifact's properties contain contamination from the Primordial Moon and traits of the Generalist path affected by Steam; I can't currently accommodate it well."

Lei Keton's tone was calm, but his unusually cold nod explained the reason for his current state.

As he moved, the starlight‑flesh fused body's features twisted into a vortex, then, under his deliberate control, reverted to a normal half‑flesh human face.

Lun Na De subconsciously swallowed, glanced aside; the star‑light floating in the black liquid felt extremely dangerous—mere observation could draw him in, letting its knowledge and information affect him.

"You finally understand that you must not look at what you shouldn't," Pa Lie Si's voice echoed in Lun Na De's ear.

Lei Keton's gaze lingered on Lun Na De, seeing through him to Pa Lie Si; the Time Worm's condition seemed to have improved.

Retracting his eyes, Lei Keton forced a hint of laughter into his voice, "It seems you've made decent gains."

He paused, then looked at Lun Na De's ringed right hand and continued, "Consider this ring my reward; you can use it to return directly to Beikelande. I need to stay here for a while to resolve the issues in that trait and fully integrate it."

"No problem."

Leonard was slightly stunned for a moment, then realized that the latter sentence was directed at him; he immediately nodded, using the ring on his hand to open a 'Traveler's Gate', and directly teleported out of this warehouse.

(End of chapter)